The Friends of Fort York and Garrison Common is a not-for-profit organization with charitable status, founded in 1995, and supported by memberships, donations, grants and generous volunteers. We exist primarily to support Fort York National Historic Site in downtown Toronto and advocate its best interests. We are committed to the well-being of our neighbourhood too. What We Do:
In the mid-1990s,
we were instrumental in shaping the plan adopted by City Council that defined what became Fort York Boulevard and added several acres of open space to the fort's precinct. Since then, we have expanded our role to support programming at Fort York. Convinced of the need to rebuild an active military presence at the fort which had been a casualty of budget cuts in the early 1990s we took over responsibility for the Fort York Guard from the City in 1999, and founded the Fife and Drum Corps the following year. Not only do we recruit, train and outfit annually the 20 to 25 young men and women who make up these squads, but we also cover their wages. In the realm of city planning we have advocated safe, open connections under the Bathurst Street bridge when it is rebuilt, and strongly supported the City's position in urging Metrolinx to lower the Georgetown rail corridor at Strachan Avenue. We successfully opposed plans to elevate the Front Street extension on columns, like the Gardiner. We lost the case we took to the OMB to prevent changes in the Official Plan to allow taller buildings south of the fort. Our Precinct Advisory Committee meets regularly to keep abreast of current planning issues in the Fort York precinct. We publish a quarterly electronic newletter The Fife and Drum, which reaches a readership of about 2500. We support the efforts of the staff through exhibits, programs, live interpreters, and historic settings to encourage a new level of understanding about the War of 1812 era and Fort York's role in the founding of the Town of York in 1793 and the development of the City of Toronto since that time. Membership:
With membership comes free entry to the fort, a discount on items purchased at the gift shop, and our publication, The Fife and Drum, a quarterly newsletter. Joining The Friends is as easy as completing and submitting a membership form or joining us online: www.fortyork.ca
